Augusta’s Historic Preservation Commission voiced its opposition Thursday to plans to demolish the historic former First Baptist Church on Greene Street with a 6-0-1 vote to deny owner Joe Edge’s application to tear it down.
The move came as no surprise to Edge, who is publisher of The Augusta Press. The preservation commission voted in January to cite his SH Investment Group for inadequately maintaining the building and urged him to seal it to prevent further damage.
Edge, who responded with plans to demolish, maintains he’s being singled out for refusing a heavy-handed effort by Historic Augusta to get him to sell or donate the building he bought in 2020. The nonprofit serves in an advisory capacity to the commission.
“Nothing I could have said or presented would have changed their minds,” said Edge, who did not attend the meeting Thursday. In addition, he said no one from the commission or city government has made a single phone call to inquire about his plans for the building.
His application to demolish the church stated its repair to the commission’s standards is not financially feasible and that the city is trying to force SH to move at an impossible speed. Edge offered to continue to invest in the building, but only if the city ceases its aggressive efforts.
Commission member Leon Maben made the motion to deny the application. It was seconded by member John McBrayer. In all, six members present voted for the motion, while District 5 appointee Valerie Kelly abstained from voting. The remaining appointees on the 12-person volunteer board were absent Thursday or their seats are unfilled.
Maben’s motion to deny included two reasons: That the application had no post-demolition plan and that city staff recommended denial based on criteria for when demolition is not appropriate.
The criteria included a public interest in the building, which was built in 1902, is architecturally significant and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other criteria included the building’s impact on the existing character of the area, which is the downtown Augusta historic district, its rarity and replaceability, and the availability of alternatives to tearing it down.
Historic Augusta, which Edge said has deferred maintenance on its own historic properties while singling him out, said in the meeting packet that demolition “should be out of the question” for the church and would likely be costlier than repairing the building’s dome and roof to prevent its eventual demolition by neglect.
The group’s president, Robert Mauldin, said Thursday the building’s condition is rapidly declining as rain pours in through a hole in its dome, and that Historic Augusta “strongly recommends that it be mothballed, rather than demolished.”
Added to Edge’s application was a cost estimate from Chaplin and Sons to demolish the building, city Planner Ryan Jones said at the meeting. The estimate was $213,375, with about 75% going toward the sanctuary and the rest for the rear of the building.
Commission Chairman Dave Barbee asked if the commission had the capacity to acquire the property by compensation or through eminent domain, in an effort to clear any “misinformation.” Sam Meller, the city attorney assigned to the planning department, said neither the preservation commission nor Historic Augusta has that capacity.
Under Augusta’s preservation ordinance, challenging the commission’s decision means entering mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful, the matter can be voted up or down by the Augusta Commission.
